“Pleats, please”. That was my thought whenever I met anyone. I was thrilled by the birth of such wonderful clothes. Eighteen years have passed since the birth of PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE in 1993; twenty, since we first started our research for the project. In the years that have followed, our mission has been to highlight the social dimensions of the clothes we believe in and to universalize them.

PLEATS PLEASE are clothes designed to suit the needs and style of every woman. They are valued not only for their beauty but also for their practicality. The clothes continue to be as popular today partly due to the fact that they project an air of authority suitable to any occasion, whether special, everyday or for travel; regardless, they require almost no maintenance.

When Issey Miyake began working with pleats, Japan’s weaving factories were in decline. In order to assure the future of production, we had to develop our own unique new materials. This is how Miyake and his team, working in tandem with a fiber company, developed clothes. In this sense, PLEATS PLEASE is attire that harnessed the power of design to combine the realities of
the production plant with the needs and demands of the consumer. It was also the era when the role of Japanese women began to shift from the home to the business community. PLEATS PLEASE could be rolled up, packed for trips and emerge wrinkle-free, therefore providing ideal solutions both for these women’s business and private lifestyles.

We have included every collection to date in this book, along with every aspect of the PLEATS PLEASE oeuvre. For the first time, a camera has entered the PLEATS PLEASE production facilities to provide a detailed account of the specialprocess that begins with the thread itself. This book not only retraces our steps to date; but also affords us with an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves
with the essence of PLEATS PLEASE and to take what we have learned to move into the future.

CONTENTS
Introduction
In closing – A view of pleats please, by Kazuko Sato
Chronology
Biographies of the authorsChapter 1: What is PLEATS PLEASE?
Weaqring a Miyake is like we wearing an experience, by Li Edelkoort
Bon voyage! With PLEATS PLEASE, by Yasuko Seki
The work of PLEATS PLEASE, by Issey Miyake
For Issey Miyake, by Olivier SaillardChapter 2: From the Production Sites
How PLEATS PLEASE was born, Cawaii Factory. Photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki
-After the 1980s, a new challenge
-How to create a beautiful, lightweight fabric
-The functionality of synthetic fibers
-Thread development
-Clothing as a product
-Into the future
Applying PLEATS – Polytex Industry CO.,LTD., Cawaii Factory. Photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki
-Making things, based on the concept of inversion
-Made not just using machines, but with the warmth of human hands
Spinning thread – Toray Industries, Inc., Mishima Plant, Cawaii Factory. Photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki
-The principle of creating the thread of synthetic fibers
-Spinning massive quantities of thread at high speed
Knitting the fabric – Toray Textiles, Inc., Inami Plant, Cawaii Factory. Photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki
-How the fabric was developed
-From the preparation stage to the knitting machines
Printing on fabric – Seiren Co., Ltd., TPF Plant, Cawaii Factory. Photographs by Hiroshi Iwasaki
-A proprietary printing system
-Printing in an orderly factory
PLEATS PLEASE captured by Francis Giacobetti
So pleased, by Antigone SchillingChapter 3: To wear is to express
PLEATS PLEASE worn, by Mitsuko Uchida
PLEATS PLEASE worn, by Masako Shirasu
PLEATS PLEASE worn, by BallerinasChapter 4: Those who wear them
Happy victims, by Kyoichi Tsuzuki
Pleats Please captured by photographers
Always part of my life, Kazuko SatoChapter 5: Another expression
Therapie thank you, by Josephine Pryde
The big bang exhibition and Pleats Please, by Catherine GrenierChapter 6: Guest artist series
Guest artist series Nº 1. Yasumasa Morimura
An invitation to freedom – For the guest artist series, by Yasuo Kobayashi
Guest artist series Nº 2. Nobuyoshi Araki
Guest artist series Nº 3. Tim Hawkinson
Guest artist series Nº 4. Cai Guo-Qiang
From the perspective of art, by Yoshiko IkomaChapter 7: Communication
The work of Ikko Tanaka
The work of CLM BBDO
The work of Kan Akita
The work for Pleats Please, by Taku Satoh
-Defining the clothes
2- The clothes are the stars
Animation
Shopping bag
Pleats Please and me, by Tokujin Yoshioka
Design of the Pleats Please shops in New York and Paris, by Gwenaël Nicolas
CataloguesChapter 8: PLEATS PLEASE Travel through the planet, by Yuriko Takagi
India
Kenya
China
Morocco